Resolving democratic deficiencies in British parliament Essay

Resolving democratic deficiencies in British parliament - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that undeniably, many countries have adopted the British parliamentary system of government and modified it over time to suit their needs. British parliament system is a supreme legislative body with crown dependencies and located in Westminster in London. Queen Elizabeth, the British monarch is the sovereign head and the chief of state of the United Kingdom. The parliament has legislative supremacy and hence ultimate power over all political bodies in the UK. In addition, the parliament has two divisions including the upper house or the house of lords and the lower house or the house of the Commons. The House of Commons includes government ministers, elected to the chambers every five years in accordance with the constitution. The Monarch chooses the prime minister who works together with the government through accounting to the parliament and public on the usage of public finances. British parliament suffers from serious democratic defici encies partly because of its organization. In normal circumstances, a parliament as an institution of democracy needs to embrace a government that works towards fulfilling people’s expectations and solving problems they encounter in their daily lives. In this regard, it is important that the people they represent from diverse communities elect members of the parliament. Failure to this causes bias since parliamentary members will act in favor of a small group with personal interests.... What is Democracy? In 2005, UN World Summit declared democracy as a universal value, which does not belong to any region or country. In fact, it is based on freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social, and cultural systems (UN, 2005, p.31). Different democracies share different features in that the government puts people’s interests as a first priority but there is no single model of democracy. Every parliament should be a democratic institution because it is an elected body. Therefore, parliamentarians should endeavor to represents the society and its interests as much as possible. Democracy calls parliamentarians to reconcile conflicting interests of different groups in the diverse communities they represent through dialogue and compromise. In addition, they have the task of adapting society laws to changing needs and circumstances, accounting their actions in full to the public (Beetham, 2006, p. 2). Democracy also entails an inclusion of women, disabled and other minority groups interests that the parliament represents. The fact that only a certain percentage of the British Parliament members are elected in office by the public lessens democracy. Ways of Solving Democratic problems in the UK Change the Electoral Process Elections are held every five years after parliament is dissolved through Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Elections vote in 650 members of the House of Commons who oversee the actions of the government. â€Å"First past the post† used to vote in the House of Common members denies citizens the basic democratic rights of votes of equal value. In this system, votes do not carry the same value (â€Å"UK Parliament,† N.d,

Media issues in india Essay Example for Free

Media issues in india Essay The Indian media display certain defects. These should ideally be addressed and corrected in a democratic manner. But if the media prove incorrigible, harsh measures may be called for. The time has come when some introspection by the Indian media is required. Many people, not only those in authority but even ordinary people, have started saying that the media have become irresponsible and wayward, and need to be reined in. Only a couple of days back I read in the newspapers that the Union government has issued some regulations regarding licences for news channels, to which there was a lot of reaction. Under the Constitution of India, freedom of the media is part of the freedom of speech guaranteed by Article 19 (1) (a). However, no freedom can be absolute, and reasonable restrictions can be placed on it. One of the basic tasks of the media is to provide truthful and objective information to the people that will enable them to form rational opinions, which is a sine qua non in a democracy. But are the Indian media performing this role properly? I may only mention certain defects in the functioning of the India media today. Twisting facts One of the defects is that the media often twist facts. I would like to give an example. One day, a leading English newspaper published on its front page a photograph of Justice Gyan Sudha Misra of the Supreme Court with the caption: â€Å"Supreme Court Judge says that her daughters are liabilities.† This was a distorted and fallacious item of news, published on the front page. Supreme Court Judges have to disclose their assets and liabilities. Against the liabilities column, Justice Misra had written: â€Å"two daughters to be  married.† Strictly speaking, it was not necessary to mention this because liabilities mean legal liabilities, for example, housing loan, car loan, and so on. Justice Misras intention was obviously to say that she would have to spend on her daughters future marriage. She has three daughters (no son), only one of whom has been married. Justice Misra never said, nor intended to say, that her daughters were liabilities. The news was false and defamatory, with the obvious intention of creating a sensation. Paid news A second defect concerns the issue of paid news that has become prominent of late. In the 2009 elections, it was a scandal. How this vicious practice could be stopped needs to be discussed. Incidentally, in compliance with an order of the Chief Information Commissioner dated September 19, 2011, we have placed the 71-page report of the Committee consisting of Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Sreenivas Reddy on our website, www.presscouncil.nic.in with the disclaimer that the Press Council had rejected this report at its meeting held on April 26, 2010. Non-issues as real issues A third defect is that the media often portray non-issues as real issues, while the real issues are sidelined. The real issues in India are economic, that is, the terrible economic conditions in which 80 per cent of our people are living, the poverty, unemployment, lack of housing and medical care and so on. Instead of addressing these real issues, the media often try to divert the attention of people to non-issues. Such as that the wife of a film actor has become pregnant, whether she will give birth to a single child or to twins, and so on. Are these the real issues facing the nation? At a Lakme India Fashion Week event, there were 512 accredited journalists covering the event in which models were displaying cotton garments, while the men and women who grew that cotton were killing themselves at a distance of an hours flight from Nagpur, in the Vidharbha region. Nobody told that story, except one or two journalists, locally. Is this a responsible way for the Indian media to function? Should the media turn a Nelsons eye to the harsh economic realities facing over 75 per cent of our people, and concentrate on some ‘Potemkin villages where all is glamour and show biz? Are not the Indian media behaving much like Queen Marie Antoinette, who said that if the people had no bread, they should eat cake? No doubt, sometimes the media mention farmers suicides, the rise in the price of essential commodities, and so on, but such coverage is at most 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the total. The bulk of the coverage goes to showing the life of film stars, pop music, fashion parades, cricket and astrology. Tendency to brand Here is a fourth defect. Bomb blasts have taken place near the Delhi High Court, in Mumbai, Bangalore and so on. Within a few hours of such a bomb blast, many TV channels started showing news items that said that the Indian Mujahideen or the Jaish-e-Mohammed or the Harkatul-Jihad-e-Islam had sent e-mails or text messages claiming responsibility. The names of such alleged organisations will always be Muslim ones. Now, an e-mail can be sent by any mischievous person, but by showing this on TV channels and the next day in the newspapers, the tendency is to brand all Muslims as terrorists and bomb-throwers. The truth is that 99 per cent of the people of all communities, whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Sikh, and of whatever caste or region, are good. But the manner in which such news is shown on TV screens and published in newspapers tends to create the impression that all Muslims are terrorists, and evil — which is totally false. The person who sends such e-mails or text messages obviously wants to create hatred between Hindus and Muslims, which is the old British divide-and-rule policy continuing even today. Should the media, wittingly or unwittingly, become part of this policy of divide-and-rule? No doubt there are defects not only in the media but in other institutions also, for example, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, and so on. There are two ways to remove these defects in the media. One is the democratic way, that is, through discussions, consultations and persuasion — which is the method I prefer. The other way is by using harsh measures against the media, for example, by imposing heavy fines on defaulters, stopping government advertisements to them, suspending their licences, and so on. In a democracy we should first try the first method to rectify the defects through the democratic method. For this purpose, I have decided to have regular get-togethers with the media, including the electronic media, so that we can all introspect and ourselves find out ways and means to rectify the defects in the media, rather than this being done by some government authority or external agency. I propose to have such get-togethers once every two or three months, at which we will discuss issues relating to the media and try to think of how we can improve the performance of the media so that it may win the respect and confidence of the people. If the media prove incorrigible, harsh measures may be required. But in my opinion, that should be done only as a last resort and in extreme situations. Ordinarily, we should first try to resolve issues through discussion, consultation and self-regulation. That is the approach which should be first tried in a democracy. I, therefore, request the Union government to defer the implementation of its recent decision regarding news channel licences, so that we can ourselves discuss the issue thoroughly, and ourselves take corrective measures. Till now the function of the Press Council was only adjudication. I intend to make the Press Council an instrument of mediation in addition, which is in my opinion the democratic approach. For this purpose, I need help,  cooperation and advice from the media. India is passing through a transitional period in its history, from a feudal agricultural society to a modern industrial society. This is a very painful and agonising period. The media must help society in going through this transitional period as quickly as possible, and by reducing the pain involved. This they can do by attacking feudal ideas, for example, casteism and communalism, and promoting modern scientific ideas.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp They are two giants of films of our times or the Modern Cinema. Together, the magic they have created for big screen is certainly worthy of discussion as it is the longest lasting partnership between an actor and a director till date and that too only to produce unique cinematic masterpieces of their own kind. Indeed the legendary Director Tim Burton and the pliable acting machine Jonny Depp are under discussion here. How and why have they managed to play together the most successful innings of all times? Who are they? What are the films they have collaborated in? How do they think about each others art? But the most important of all the thoughts would be that Why Tim Burton almost always depends on Johnny Depp and how predictably Mr Depp proves to be a Burton-magnet equally? Why are they inseparable? My essay is going to explore and throw a light on this unique partnership that is continuing to entertain us for the years to come, how it is affecting the viewers and critics alike and if it is worth practicing this bond almost every time? Tim Burton has used his vision to embark on Hollywood genre filmmaking, gathering an international audience and fans. His work also influences a young generation of artists working in film, video and graphic industries. Tim Burton: the name alone enlivens up the images of Gothic landscapes, demonic clowns, and the sombre pleasantness of a loner struggling to find his way into un-accepting world. Like Alfred Hitchcock before him, Tim Burton has become mythical persona, known as much for his physical appearances, alternately described as endearingly passà ©, dork chic, or dishevelled for its highly stylized films. His films have been able to rise above both genre and explanation. The ideas and the material that appear in his work are both universal and timeless. His films, in first place, affect people emotionally rather than being intellectual. This resulted in Tim Burton becoming one of the filmmakers who based their films on their personal visions, the other being Woody Allen, Mart in Scorsese, Stanley Kubirck, David Lynch and Spike Lee. Timothy Walter â€Å"Tim† Burton was born (1958) and grew up in suburban California. He was into drawing and painting since early childhood together with a thing for movies and that too, monster movies. Trying his weird ideas of â€Å"home-made† animation through stop motion in his back yard resulted in his first proper short came into being which was produced by Burtons friend, Rick Heinrichs. Tim Burton managed to get screened and noticed at Chicago Film Festival. Following this, his first live action film Hansel and Gratelfor Disney Channel was released. It kind of went nearly un-noticed and only recently has been un-earthed. Next was the live-action short Frankenweenie which got the attention of the American actor Paul Ruebens who provided Burton the opportunity to materialise his first feature based on Ruebens popular character ‘Pee-Wee Herman into the Pee-Wees BigAdventure (1985)which proved a box office success. When the time came to make Edward Scissorhands, there were many considerations for main role of the film. One prominent of all was to cast Tom Cruise, who was the top shining star of the period who was nearly finalised for the film, due to his star power, the film studios needed. But Tim Burton and the producer Denise di Novi fell for the auditioned, the bored television star, Johnny Depp, who had never done a feature before. John Christopher â€Å"Johnny† Depp was born (1963) in Kentucky, USA. He was mostly known for strange and unusual characters, playing as a garage band musician in his early teens. He covered many a mile stones while staying within the music circles. His make-up artist wife introduced him to Nicolas Cage, and it was him who advised Depp to pursue an acting career. According to Squidoo (2010), Depps talent was first recognised in television series 21 Jump Streetby audience and he was regarded as a teen idol. Depp diverted his focus to suitable film roles because of uncomfortable characterization in television roles. It was then, when ‘Edward Scissorhands stepped into his life to change his fate forever. Depp recalls the memorable encounter with Burton in his exclusive present of forewords for a book, â€Å"Burton on Burton† based on interviews of the director, when he wasnt doing much, rather stuck up with a television series and after even finishing it, its post traumas. He received a script which referred to a story of boy with scissors for hands. It was certainly a change, a breath of fresh air that he got quite excited and obsessed with the script and read a couple times. Under-estimating his selection as a possible candidate for the ‘Edward, he went on to meet Burton and the producer in LA. Post three hour long meeting, Depp remembers the thought of certainty of him not being the Edward of Burtons film. Weeks later he couldnt believe his fate when he got a call saying â€Å"you are Edward Scissorhands†. There was a path that seemed to be appearing in front of Depp. Salisbury (2008) stated that after their first work together, i.e. Burtons Edward Scissorhands (1990), both of them have taken their relation to produce some of the best work of their respective careers. Johnny Depp is not only lead by Burton but by his own interpretation of a character, whether it is razor-fingered Edward Scissorhands, cross-dressing film director Ed Wood or creepy confectionery king Willy Wonka. Theyve since made five films together including Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; the animated Corpse Bride, Depp doing the voice over for lead character) and, most recently, Sweeney Todd. According to Cortez (2004), Depp again worked with Tim Burton in Ed Wood (1994) proving his flair and winning a. This movie is one of the Burtons highly praised films. In the movie, other than Johnny Depp, there were some vibrant performers including Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi. Both of them, Depp and Burton, once again collaborated in 1999 in Sleepy Hollow. The film was a hit at box office; it was recognised as Burtons extra-ordinary work rather than being seen as Depps star power, as stated by Cortez (2004). For the movie, Depp incorporated some of his own attributes into the character of an officer, named Ichabod Crane having a prudish nature, who is on to solve some mysterious murders taken place recently in and around the town. Depp was able to gain reputation with other directors and the critics also showed some confidence in his abilities. Depps career was at peak with an Oscar to his name for the film Finding Neverland, a Pirates sequel was on line and Tim Burtons eagerly awaited Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was about to be released. As stated by Terry Gilliam after completing Fear and Loathing, â€Å"As far as Im concerned, Johnny Depp is the best actor of his generation. I think hes capable of anything theres no limit to his abilities He doesnt cheat by giving you all these cheap emotions. He wont make you comfortable for him that would be a foot in the grave. â€Å"In reply to this Depp said that he decided to have patience in selecting the roles. He also said that he preferred roles of his interest and not the roles with chance of his career advancement. He also added that he never wanted to be remembered because he was a star. Depp turned down every offer, with full confidence, which did not attract him or was not interesting. Mostly, he rejected the offers because they were in his way of acting in Burtons film. He rejected the offer of acting in Speed and Interview with the Vampire and instead he acted in Tim Burtons best film Ed Wood (1994). Since their first movie together Edward Scissorhands, Burton and Depp shared a strong bond between each other and both individuals are so perfectly similar that Depp became Burtons first and convenient choice for his every movie. According to Winter (2005), Burton once stated, â€Å"Johnny is like a character actor in a leading mans body. He could do it all.† No one had any idea of the consequences of their imaginative collaboration. They both had already made seven blockbusters and their partnership has not ended yet. The classy understanding they both have developed with each other at work, over the years, is one of the important trait of their teamwork at work. They do not face difficulties in explaining anything to each other. They would be speaking normal language, though shorter sentences, on the sets with everyone present but no one would be able to understand it but the person who it is intended for. A Little saying, a gesture and certain look of the director will get look out of the actor that will be termed as â€Å"just what the doctor ordered†. In order to make a grasp of Burtons and Depps style of collaborating, we need to have an insight of their methodology or simply their way of working while developing â€Å"things†. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp worked together in Sweeney Todd (2007) paying a respect, both visually and verbally, to the horror movies they watched in their childhood. Salisbury (2008) stated that both of them have a common favourite movie named Mad Love (1935), with actor Peter Lorre and sharing an expensive acting style like Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney. Depp said, â€Å"Its almost a lost art! [John] Barrymore was a master, but the king for me was Lon Chaney. You go back and watch films like The Penalty and see this rage and sadness, this huge range of emotions, without the luxury of dialogue.† According to Salisbury (2008), Sweeneys lines were cut down every day on set to bare minimum. Burton told, â€Å"Johnny can, just by looking and not saying anything, project pain and sadness and anger and longing. Thats what all those actors could do without a word and that was the exciting thing about this. The storys told through the eyes and the singing. â€Å"As in Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, Depp played a similar role in Sweeney Todd helping Burton to connect emotionally and psychologically. Depp recalled, â€Å"There were moments when Burton used to say that this is his favourite character.† Johnny also expresses about their bond and the expectations, â€Å"By now people know that when Tim and I get together, they should expect the unexpected. Audiences are again getting to set for yet another beautiful artistic version of Burtons Alice in the wonderland,(rel,Mar,2010) in which by the look of it, we get to see his stars, including Depp again, dazzle in a startlin g look. Film journalist, Geoff Boucher, mentions in Los Angeles Times about his recent telephonic-conversation with Tim Burton on the sets of Alice in Wonderland, â€Å"I told Burton that it seems as if Depp (who has other upcoming roles as an Old West hero, a pirate and a vampire) approaches his acting choices the same way a gleeful kid rummages through a trunk of dress-up clothes; the filmmaker let out a loud laugh†. According to Boucher (2008), Burton replied, â€Å"Its true. Yeah we have a big dress-up clothes trunk here. We take it with us wherever we go.† After all these years and a good load of successful experiences, it is no surprise that Johnny has become a ‘yes man to his Burton. He is never short of words each time when he has to talk about his mentor and which he has memorably expresses on several occasions. As stated by Salisbury (1995, xii) that in Johnny Depps own words, â€Å"You cant label what he does. It is not magic, because that would imply some sort of trickery. It is not just skill, because that seems like it is learned. What he has is very special gift that we dont see every day. It is not enough to call him film-maker. The rare title of ‘genius is better fit, in not just films, but drawings, photographs, thought, insight and ideas.† At another place, stated by Salisbury (1995), the most humble and defining remark comes from the actor himself, â€Å"My life is my life because of Tim,† he once declared. Same is the case in their private lives. In order to analyse the inseparable nature of both the individual professionally, we cannot ignore the importance of their bonding on personal fronts. The once an essential relationship of an actor and director turned-friendship has now turned to something that is much more than mere friendship that holds a unique bond of trust and has personal life touch to it. Depp is now the Godfather to Burtons four year old child. Flipping through the pages of memories, he remembers that â€Å"who would have ever thought it possible that their progeny would be swinging on swing-sets together, or sharing toy cars, toy monsters, and even potentially exchanging chicken pox? This is the ride he never imagined.† Salisbury (1995) stated that Depp showed his emotional side for the director, â€Å"seeing Tim as proud papa is enough to send me into an irrepressible weeping jag, because, as with almost everything, it is in the eyes. Tims eyes have always shone: no question about it, there was always something luminous in those troubled/sad/weary peepers. But today, the eyes of old pal Tim are laser beam! Piercing, smiling contented eyes, with all of the gravity of yester years, but bright with the hope of spectacular future. This was not the case before. There was a man with presumably everything- or so it seemed from the outside. But there was also something incomplete!† There have been numerous arguments on both Burtons and Depps creative partnership on many levels; from newspapers to interviews or from books to online blogs. Some of the members of the public, especially the younger generation consider the â€Å"magical† film relation of both the artists a bit overrated or in some cases, annoying. But this opinion obviously takes its birth from freedom of expression of modern day and need not to be taken very seriously as there is a substantial amount of followers who can never have enough of the results both Burton and Depp churn out. In this context, obviously the critics and the writers have more weighting and almost all of them are the applauding lot of their work. There are some exceptions as well like, although he is all praise for the talented duo, but in one article for Radio Times the known film writer Andrew Collins expresses that he was relieved when Alice inWonderland (to be released, march 2010) was announced that he realised tha t Depp couldnt take the title role. â€Å"But guess what? Hes playing the Mad Hatter. And after that, Burton plans to make Dark Shadows, a vampire story†¦starring Johnny Depp.† Commenting on his article were many, but one particular member of the public responded to it like this: â€Å"This article is like saying that people should stop putting maple syrup on pancakes because people do it too often. Just because they work together often does not mean the work that they accomplish together gets any worse. The pancakes still taste good. The movies are still entertaining. They make amazing movies together so why should they stop?† By exploring the â€Å"strategic† partnership of both the talented ones on most of the projects I would frankly say Why Not? I do not feel hesitant to express that it is no doubt a God-send bonding which has never failed to amuse and amaze us and I am of the opinion that there is nothing wrong with it if they carry on to make more cinematic pieces together in future. While doing that the least they can do, like they always do, is to strive for their repute and continue to bemuse the audiences by weaving more dreams. But still, being somewhat well researched in my own manner and by equally respecting the different argument I cannot turn my back to an interesting and important comment at a film blog by an unknown blogger and I will sum up my essay with that, â€Å"Just the fact that he used Ewan McGregor instead of Depp for Big Fish was refreshing and a big plus for the movie to me. Its like a painter deciding hes only going to use red and yellow for the rest of his career, whe n Id really like to see what he can do with some other colours.† Bibliography  · Answers (2010). â€Å"Tim Burton.† Available at http://www.answers.com/topic/tim-burton [Accessed: 2nd April 2010];  · Boucher, G. (2008). ‘Hero Complex; Tim Burton on Johnny Depp. Los Angeles Times;  · Collins, Andrew. â€Å"Tim Burton Johnny Depp: Joined at the hip?†Radio Times, 30th January 2009. http://www.radiotimes.com/blogs/558-andrew-collins-on-tim-burton-johnny-depp/ [Accessed: 2nd April 2010];  · Los Angeles Times (2010). â€Å"Hero Complex.† Available at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2008/10/tim-burton-talk.html [Accessed: 2nd April 2010];  · Fraga, Kristian. â€Å"Tim Burton Interview. Mississippi, USA: University Press. 2005;  · Salisbury, Mark. â€Å"Burton Depp: Partners in crime.† The Envelope (Los Angeles Times), January 2nd 2008. http://www.deppimpact.com/mags/transcripts/envelope_02jan08.html [Accessed: 1st April 2010];  · Salisbury, Mark. â€Å"Burton on Burton†. United Kingdom: Mackays of Charham. 1995;  · SquiWho (2010). â€Å"Who is Johnny Depp?† Available at http://www.squidoo.com/Johnny_Depp13 [Accessed: 2nd April 2010];  · Tim Burton Collective News (2010). â€Å"Alice #1 at Box Office: $116 Mil. Opening Weekend.† Available at http://www.timburtoncollective.com/labels/charlie%20and%20the%20chocolate%20factory.html [Accessed: 3rd April 2010];  · Winter, Jessica. â€Å"Depp and Meaningful.† Time Out (UK), April 6-13 2005. http://www.deppimpact.com/mags/transcripts/timeout_06apr05.html [Accessed: 1st April 2010]; http://www.timburtoncollective.com/labels/charlie%20and%20the%20chocolate%20factory.html

Supply Chain Management & IT Essay -- Supply Chain Management Papers

Supply Chain Management & IT Introduction Supply Chain Management (SCM) has become such an integral and essential part of every day business that entire fields of major are dedicated solely to it. SCM, pioneered by Wal-Mart, has grown in the last few years to include not only the management of the physical aspects of SCM, but also the electronic components, such as the Internet and many SCM tools, for instance SAP. Inventory being held across the retail supply chain at any one time amounts to $1 trillion, according to a report by Benchmarking Partners, based on U.S. Dept. of Commerce data. The Cambridge, Mass.-based consulting firm estimates 15 percent to 20 percent of those inventories ($150 billion to $200 billion worldwide; $40 billion to $50 billion in the United States) could be eliminated through improved planning, forecasting and replenishment. This is a major motivation for firms everywhere to reduce costs by applying supply chain management tools. What is Supply Chain Management? Traditionally, the phrase Supply Chain Management meant assembly lines, warehouses, truckers and time sheets. Earlier, manufacturers had the luxury of taking years to develop, market and sell their products. Back then, there were few variations in packaging and in the products themselves. In only a few years, the very fundamentals of manufacturing in virtually every industry have changed. Changes have taken place in the relationships between producers of primary products, manufacturers and retailers. Companies are looking at how to provide greater flexibility in moving parts globally. In a quest for greater efficiency and lower costs, there's been growing importance given to managing the supply chain effectively for the benefit of al... ...older wealth is rising, making investors happy, whilst giving the technological industry (computers) a boost. Bibliography / References / Works Cited: McGraw-Hill, Irwin, Management Information Systems, Sixth Edition O’Brien ISBN: 0- 07-282311-9, 2004 Supply Chain Management Research Center http://www.cio.com/research/scm/edit/012202_scm.html Is Supply Chain Management What I Need? http://stylusinc.com/WebEnable/Sales/SCM.php What is SCM? http://scrc.ncsu.edu/public/s1whatis.html SCM: What does it mean to Industry now? http://logistics.about.com/cs/supplychainmgmt/a/uc102803.htm Integrated Supply Chain Management http://www.dod.mil/comptroller/icenter/learn/iscm.htm How Wal-Mart Keeps Getting it Right http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2003/nf20030416_2930_db016.htm SAP – Deutschland http://www.sap.com/germany/index.aspx

Finance and Positivism

Introduction According to Little (2005), philosophy of social science is a scholarly discipline that attempts to analyse the logic, methodology, modes of explanation of the social sciences, in which its studies include psychology, sociology, anthropology, history and economics. Social science provides understanding of everyday interactions of individuals and interactions among human society in social institutions. Providing prediction and explanation for human behaviour and its consequences are some of the main aims of social science (Rosenberg, 1988).The purpose of this paper is to examine how philosophy of social science can help in explaining speculators’ behaviours. This paper is divided into five sections. It will begin by explaining the speculative behaviours of stock traders on lottery type of stocks, the probable data source and methodology. This will be followed by introducing the concept of positivism and identifying the reasons for selecting positivism. This paper w ill also provide some criticisms to positivism. Lastly, the paper ends with a summary.Speculative Behaviours of the Stock Traders in Lottery Type of Stocks My research will be mainly focus on the speculative behaviours of the stock traders, such as fund managers and retail speculators on lottery type of stocks. Speculation is different from investment, in which according to Peers (2003), On the one hand, speculation involves taking large amount of risks attempting to earn quick profit. Speculation is a game where expected return and risk are both indeterminate.As a result, speculators need to take relatively large amount of risk with respect to attempt to predict the future. A simple example of speculation is purchasing gold. Speculators might think that buying gold is a better use of money due to the inflation. Since gold depends more on inflationary rate and relies less on global economy, buy gold during period of financial crisis will help speculators to generate quick profit. Ho wever, gold prices are now extremely high, and there is no guarantee that prices will keep increasing in the future.Since there are huge fluctuations in gold prices, speculators are very likely need to bear large amount of risk when they purchased gold. On the other hand, according to Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC (2007) investment involves analyzing the future earning and the preference of participating in those future earnings. The expected future value of investment is higher than the cost of the investment. Expected future value takes into account for all of the potential good or bad events multiply by the probability of those events.Investors usually search for definable expected future value, minimize risk and investors have nominal risk aversion, which means that investors will prefer a more guaranteed payout and the uncertain one, otherwise, investors will need a higher expected returns in order for them to undertake the risk. Using the gold example to differentiate i nvestor and speculator, investors purchase gold and hold it for decades, because after couple of decades, the returns from selling those amounts of gold will be higher than the initial cost of buying those amounts of gold, even after subtracting the returns from the transaction costs.Furthermore, gold will still be considered as one of the most precious metal after couple of decades. Investors do not need to worry that the value of gold will worth nothing, thus expected future value is more guaranteed and risk is minimized to some extent. Speculators purchase gold during the periods of financial crisis, and sell gold in order to buy stocks during periods of bubble. This strategy can help speculators to generate quick profit, however, it is extremely hard to predict when bubble or crisis will occur, and this uncertainty might cause speculators to experience huge amount of loss as well.Lottery Type of Stocks According to Kumar (2009), some stocks are classified as lottery type because they have prominent characteristics of lottery. Lottery type of stocks has low prices and relatively high potential payoff, just like jackpot in lottery. The expected returns of lottery type of stocks are negative but low, and they have risky payoffs. The price distribution of lottery type of stocks has very high variance, and most particularly, the probability of earning a huge profit is extremely small.Since lottery type of stocks has a very big probability of experiencing a loss and a very small probability to generate a huge gain, both risk and expected future value are indeterminate. By applying the definition of investors and speculators that we mentioned earlier, only speculators will have the preference of buying lottery type of stocks, due to their risk loving behavior, while investors do not, because risk-averse investors prefer to minimize risk even though there is a small change to earn huge profit.Positivism One of the main topics in philosophy of social science is pos itivism. According to the Merriam-Webber’s Dictionary, â€Å"positivism† is a view of scientific methods and a philosophy approach that defines positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations as verified by the empirical sciences, and defines theology and metaphysic as earlier imperfect modes of knowledge.According to Perry, Riege and Brown (1999), some of the ontological assumptions of positivism are that the world exists externally, it is characterized by natural laws and it can be objectively observed by using a scientific way. In other words, positivism can be viewed as an appropriate methodology of social science, which emphasizes empirical observation. Positivism is also associated with empiricism, only the events, things or creatures that can be observed based on sense, experience and positive verification via the five senses can be considered as authentic knowledge.According to Creswell (2003), the underlying epistemological assumption of positivism is that there is an independent researcher of the research project, who is value and bias free, and has no influence on the result of research or data collected. Furthermore, Ticehurst and Veal (2000) states that the methodological approach for positivism is restricted in term of explanation and discovery of facts. Researcher uses developed theories and frameworks to describe behaviours based on the observations and facts collected.As a result, scientific, empiricist, experiental, deductive or quantitative approaches are involved in the research. In addition, Guba and Lincoln (1994) state that the paradigm stresses the value-free theory testing instead of theory building. Some of the key assumptions of the positivism paradigm, according to Phillips and Burbles (2000) include, first of all, researchers use null hypothesis because founded evidence in their research is usually fallible and imperfect. Secondly, majority of quantitative researches begin with the test of a theory.Researches can be considered as a practice of making claims, and subsequently either abandoning or refining them. Thirdly, knowledge is shaped by the data, evidence and rational considerations. Furthermore, research attempts to develop statements those are relevant and true, in which they are able to provide descriptions and explanations for the situation or causal relationship. Lastly, one of the most important parts of a competent inquiry is to being objective. Data and MethodologyIn order for lottery type of stocks to match the main characteristics of lotteries, first of all, the data will mainly focus on the stock with low prices (under one pound per stock). Within the set of stocks with low prices, my PhD research will focus on stocks with higher stock specific skewness, because these are the stock with higher potential payoff and they appears to be more attractive to speculators. Lastly, among the set of stocks with higher stock specific skewness and prices be low one pound, my PhD research will focus on stocks with higher idiosyncratic volatility.It is because stocks with higher idiosyncratic volatility are more likely to be considered as lottery type of stocks, because speculators might believe that when volatility is high, there is larger probability to realize the extreme returns that occurred in the past (Kumar, 2009). The methodology will be similar to Kothari and Warner (2006), in which the return of any given security at any given time can be obtained by adding the expected return based on expected return models, like Fama-French three factors model, to the abnormal return. The abnormal return of a given time eriod can be obtained by averaging all the abnormal returns of the given period. Given the test statistics provided by Kothari and Warner (2006), the paper will test the null hypothesis, comparing the returns of lottery type of stocks and index returns. If the test statistics are significantly lower, then the evidence may sug gest that the returns of lottery type of stocks underperform index returns, or vice versa. Criticisms to Positivism Some of the criticisms to the positivism is that the ontological position of positivist vis-a-vis reality that social reality exists in an independent way to the researcher (Schutz 1954).It is not helpful for the exploratory research, because the research attempts to understand meaning of the speculating process and varying perception of speculators. Berg (2004) claimed that people, events, objects and situation do possess meaning themselves; these elements confer meaning due to human interaction. Furthermore, it is inappropriate to ask the positivistic position on the epistemological question of â€Å"In what way one can obtain knowledge from a particular reality? † due to the postulation that investigating in such a reality provides no change to that reality.Moreover, one of the main criticisms of the positivism paradigm, according to Hussey and Hussey (1997), is that it is impossible to consider to people as being separate from the social contexts and they cannot be understood without apprehending their views of their own activities. A rigorously structured research design will impose some constraints on the results, and it might ignore more relevant findings, because researchers might carry their own value and interest to the research. The researchers cannot be objective because they are also part of what they are trying to observe.Lastly, statistical variables could be misleading as it is trying to capture complex phenomena. Reasons for Selecting the Positivist Paradigm Positivism is chosen to fit my PhD project, because according to Phan (2006), first of all, ontologically, stock markets is a financial world in which investment decisions can be considered as an external world, objectively adjusting itself, and individual perceptions or desires cannot have any influence. Secondly, quantifiable results are mainly the concerns in the wo rld of financial markets; it is impossible to make any alteration to the reality or to make any different perception.Thirdly, epistemologically, the researchers should be independent of their research projects, in other words, they should be free of bias and personal value, and should have no influence on the collection of data or the results of researches. Moreover, one of the main objectives of the PhD projects is to test hypothesis regarding to the returns of indexes and returns of lottery type of stocks, not to construct new theory or to implement any reform. Lastly, objectivity is important in the financial world in order to provide explanation to phenomena and causal relationships.To summarise, the PhD projects will be mainly focus on making measurements in a statistical and systematic way in order to provide validity, generalization, reliability for the measurements, as well as its predictive cause and effect (Casell and Symon 2004). Summary To sum up, my PhD research will be mainly focus on the speculative behaviours of the stock traders, such as fund managers and retail speculators on lottery type of stocks. The paper will be carry out using quantitative method and positivism fits very well in my research, as positivism is a methods that define positive knowledge which can be verified by empirical sciences.There are some criticisms about the ontological and epistemological assumption of positivism, nevertheless, the benefits of applying positivism exceeds it costs as my PhD research will mainly focus on making measurements in a statistical and systematic way to predict the cause and effect of different research topics, as well as their validity, generalization and reliability of the measurements. Reference: Berg, B. L. (2004) Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. 5th Edition, Pearson Education, Inc. Boston.Casell, C and Symon, G (2004), Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organisational Research, Sage Publications Ltd, London, UK Creswell, J (2003), Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approach, 2nd Edition, Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA. Guba, E and Lincoln, Y (1994), Competing paradigms in qualitative research, Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Hussey, J. and Hussey, R. (1997) â€Å"Business Research† Macmillan Press Ltd, Basingstoke Kumar, A. (2009) â€Å"Who Gambles in the Stock Market†, The Journal of Finance, Vol 64, No 4, 1889-1993Little, D. (2005) â€Å"Western Philosophy of Social Science† Peking University Lohpetch, D. andCorne, D. (2010) Outperforming Buy-and-Hold with Evolved Technical Trading Rules: Daily, Weekly and Monthly Trading, EvoApplications 2010, Springer LNCS Phan, A 2006, â€Å"Hedge funds and China’s stock market: a study on factors influencing investment decisions by fund managers†, DBA thesis, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. Peers, M. (2003) â€Å"A Guide To: Gambling, Investment, and Speculati on† Available at: www. math. byu. edu, Accessed on January 15, 2012Perry, C, Riege, A & Brown, L 1999, â€Å"Realism's role among scientific paradigms inmarketing research†, Irish Marketing Review, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 16-23. Phillips, DC and Burbules, NC (2000), Postpositivism and educational research, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. Rosenberg, A. (1988) â€Å"Why a Philosophy of Social Science? † In Philosophy of Social Science. Boulder, CO:Westview Press 1-21. Schutz, A (1954), Concept and Theory Formation in the Social Sciences, The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 51, No. 9, 257-273 Ticehurst, GW and Veal, AJ (2000), Business Research Methods: A Managerial Approach, Pearson Education: NSW Australia

Essay on Qwsd Da

Essay on Qwsd Da Essay on Qwsd Da Revision Date: August 29, 2007 M ART IA L C A P I TA L W H I T E PA P E R : WH AT ABO UT THE E F F I C I E N T M A RK ET H Y P OTHE SI S? www.martialcapital.com Those who believe in the Efficient Market Hypothesis, which includes the vast majority of professional investors worldwide, will say that it is impossible to sustain the kinds of returns Martial Funds has demonstrated in our backtest and in our short period of live investing. This White Paper talks about their concerns and our response. The Efficient Market Hypothesis, developed by Prof. Eugene Fama at the University of Chicago in the early 1960s, says that everything that can be known about a stock has already been incorporated into the price of that stock. From this hypothesis have come many of the theories that we use to explain the financial markets: the arbitrage principles of Miller and Modigliani, the portfolio principles of Markowitz, the Capital Asset Pricing Model of Sharpe, Lintner, and Black, and the Option-Pricing Model that won for Black, Sholes, and Merton the Nobel Prize. Investment professionals globally have embraced the Efficient Market Hypothesis. It is taught thr oughout the world in schools and in CFA licensing courses. It is used in particular by investment managers to explain their almost-index performance to their clients. Virtually all of current day financial theory is based in one form or another on the Efficient Market Hypothesis. The most important consequence of this hypothesis (for this discussion) is that it is not possible to outperform the market (adjusted for risk) over the long term. Random chance may allow a specific portfolio (a fund or privately-managed account) to do better in one year than the index, perhaps much better, but random chance will smile on some other portfolio manager next year so that over the long term, the hypothesis says, no managed fund can do better than the market. Our reply is two fold:  Look at the assumptions underlying the Efficient Market Hypothesis and judge for yourself if they are reasonable, and  Look at our results. Page 1 Â © 2007 Martial Capital Ltd. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Revision Date: August 29, 2007 www.martialcapital.com WHAT A BOU T T H E E FFI C I E NT MAR KET HY PO THESI S? Among the assumptions the Efficient Market Hypothesis makes are:  Investors are rational.  Markets are rational.  There are no taxes – or, more specifically, taxes play no part in financial decision-making.  There are no transaction costs.  An investor is indifferent between a dollar in dividends and a dollar in capital gains.  A company (and its investors) are indifferent between a dolar of aditional debt and a dollar of additional equity. The list is much longer, but you get the point. Our second argument is straightforward: How long does a fund have to convincingly beat the index before a follower of the EMH agrees that someone has proved they can beat the market? Between 1977 and 1990 – 13 years – Peter Lynch at the Magellan Fund achieved an average annual return of 29% after fees and expenses1. Is that not an example of a fund having convincingly beaten the market? The biggest problem for advocates of the Efficient Market Hypotheses is that many funds have proven they can outperform the market. Peter Lynch at Fidelity. The Harvard and Yale Endowment Funds. Warren Buffet. Our own Martial Funds have (with our backtest period plus our live experience) beaten the market every year since 1990 in the case of our Canadian portfolio, and every year since 1998 in our US portfolio. This could not be possible if the Efficient Market Hypothesis was true. To reconcile this paradox let us look more closely at the academic studies that prove that no managed fund can beat the market over the long term. The essence of their argument is that there never has been such a fund. These studies show that the results of all managed funds looks more like a

Mammal Species Characteristics

Mammal Species Characteristics Have you ever thought about what makes mammal species different from other vertebrates? If not, Im sure that you have noticed the differences between a snake, which is a reptile, and an elephant. Being a mammal myself, I have always found this particular class of vertebrates very interesting. As you will see, mammals have certain characteristics that differentiate them from other vertebrates. Lets take a look at some of these characteristics. Mammal Characteristics To begin with, mammal species are in the Class Mammalia, within the Subphylum Vertebrata, under the Phylum Chordata, in the Kingdom Animalia. Now that you have that straight, lets look at some specific traits of mammals. One main characteristic that mammals have is a feature that usually stands on end in frightening situations. Can you guess what it is? Yes, its hair or fur, whichever the case may be. This trait is useful in maintaining the constant body temperature that is important to all endothermic animals. Another characteristic is the ability to produce milk. This comes in handy while nourishing babies which are usually born fully developed (exceptions are the monotremes and the marsupials). Fertilization occurs within the reproductive tract of the female and most have a placenta that provides nutrients to the developing embryo. Mammalian young are usually slow to leave the nest, which allows for a longer period of time for the parents to teach skills that are necessary for survival. Respiratory and circulatory features of mammals include a diaphragm for proper lung ventilation and a heart that has four chambers to ensure that blood is circulated appropriately. Mammals can comprehend and learn things, which can be attributed to a larger brain size as compared to vertebrates of similar size. Finally, the existence of teeth that are different in size and function is a trait that is seen among mammals. All of these characteristics (hair, maintaining a constant body temperature, production of milk, internal fertilization, young born fully developed, highly developed circulatory and respiratory systems, larger brain size, and differences in the size and function of teeth) make mammal species unique among the vertebrates.

Free Essays on Bodega Dreams

Bodega Dreams The novel Bodega Dreams, written by Ernesto Quinonez, appears to suggest that in the case of the antagonist Willie Bodega, the ends do justify the means. Though positive results were manifested in the community, the way in which they were accomplished were far from positive. The controversially ethical issue of whether the end justify the means or the means justify the end seems to be the concern of the novel. In history many peoples’ lives have been destroyed to improve the gain of others. The forefathers of this country murdered and destroyed Native Americans’ lives for their own personal gain, Germans murdered Jews for their own gain, and like Willie Bodega drug dealers sell drugs for their own financial gain. Though some people attain success in a less extreme manner, for instance, one may see a co-worker being fired as an opportunity for a promotion. The novel seems to suggest that in order to attain success one will inevitable be forced to step on people on the way up. Analyzing Willie Bodega’s rise to the top, how he got there, and his reasoning for the way he got there, will help to develop an understanding for t he reason why the novel suggests that the means do justify the end ends. The novel opens by introducing the protagonist and narrator Julio Mercado also known as Chino and his life long best friend Enrique, also known as Sapo. The novel introduces the two characters during their childhood growing up in the ghettos of East Harlem New York, better known as Spanish Harlem, to explain how their friendship began and developed. During their years in school Sapo would always take up for Chino and even fight for him. The novel is constructed into three books in which refer to its chapters as rounds, which symbolically represents the struggle within their Spanish Harlem neighbor hood and how one literally has to become a fighter and fight to survive the adversity and destitution forced upon residents... Free Essays on Bodega Dreams Free Essays on Bodega Dreams Bodega Dreams The novel Bodega Dreams, written by Ernesto Quinonez, appears to suggest that in the case of the antagonist Willie Bodega, the ends do justify the means. Though positive results were manifested in the community, the way in which they were accomplished were far from positive. The controversially ethical issue of whether the end justify the means or the means justify the end seems to be the concern of the novel. In history many peoples’ lives have been destroyed to improve the gain of others. The forefathers of this country murdered and destroyed Native Americans’ lives for their own personal gain, Germans murdered Jews for their own gain, and like Willie Bodega drug dealers sell drugs for their own financial gain. Though some people attain success in a less extreme manner, for instance, one may see a co-worker being fired as an opportunity for a promotion. The novel seems to suggest that in order to attain success one will inevitable be forced to step on people on the way up. Analyzing Willie Bodega’s rise to the top, how he got there, and his reasoning for the way he got there, will help to develop an understanding for t he reason why the novel suggests that the means do justify the end ends. The novel opens by introducing the protagonist and narrator Julio Mercado also known as Chino and his life long best friend Enrique, also known as Sapo. The novel introduces the two characters during their childhood growing up in the ghettos of East Harlem New York, better known as Spanish Harlem, to explain how their friendship began and developed. During their years in school Sapo would always take up for Chino and even fight for him. The novel is constructed into three books in which refer to its chapters as rounds, which symbolically represents the struggle within their Spanish Harlem neighbor hood and how one literally has to become a fighter and fight to survive the adversity and destitution forced upon residents...

International Business Academic Career Major Plan Research Paper

International Business Academic Career Major Plan - Research Paper Example I strive to be a positive moral example to my friends and family. I serve as a source of advice, strength, and experience to the people around me. Am an ethical compass with which guides me in my ambitions and professional life. I try to be a guide for people close to me to live a simple and less material life focusing on the balance of all things (Villmow 2014) By participating in community outreach programs, I have had an opportunity to demonstrate that I wish well for humankind. Helping people voluntarily in orphanage homes and hospitals has reaffirmed that given the needed resources; I can do all that is possible to positively change the society. I have severally over my long vacations and my interaction with students has proved my ability in the teaching profession. By being delegated high-level duties in my working environment, I will prove what is in me, that is yet to be utilized. Teaching high-grade classes will mold all the skills and abilities to give my best to the students and the whole community. Ever since I was a young child, my interests have been in helping people, especially young people in succeeding in their duties. This has helped me stick to my career choice by knowing that no other career fits me bests as teaching and helping people achieve their dreams. Looking back at the challenges I had while growing up and studying, I want to see no one else undergo the same. I will support the young people in their research so that the world can get the doctors, engineers, and teachers it lacks. I will further my education by taking another course at the master’s level and attend training and seminars that will strengthen my abilities. I will be good to others and associate with them well, be it, my family or workmates.  

Macroeconomic Stabilisation Theory and Policy Essay

Macroeconomic Stabilisation Theory and Policy - Essay Example † A labour market is generally a market where the services of labour factors of production exchange hands. From a macroeconomics’ point of view, it is a very critical factor that impacts on the overall markets of factors of production. In line with the same definition, it should be noted that in the short-run wages remain rigid and this is among other predicaments in the same short-run. In the short-run, therefore, equilibrium remains an illusion. Over-employment and under-employment remain the order of the day in the short-run. (econguru.com, 2008) Castles, in his book, states that aggregate supply of labour is usually a function of the trade-off between leisure and income. It involves the effects of substitution and the income offsetting. (Castles, 1998 p198) On the other hand aggregate demand of labour happens where there is measurement of employment levels and it serves as a rate of growth determinant with wages and inflationary impacts on wage levels in the spotligh t. (O’Hara, 2001 p511) These two functions of any given labour market are the major aspects of this market clearing topic. They are going to be considered in detail further on in the study. The expression â€Å"Market clearing† refers to that process through which markets move to a scenario where the quantity of demand is equal to that of supply. This means that the forces of the economy ensure that supply and demand are at par. This process of achieving a market clearing position usually involves various adjustments in the market up to the point of getting a price of market clearing. This concept of market clearing is highly related to that of equilibrium in the market. (Black, et al, 2009 p282) Issues of a labour market may be with the inclusion of wages, rates of participation as well as unemployment. A typical labour market, thus, provides a systematic structure that creates an environment of employers’ and workers’ interaction with regards to the con ditions of work, jobs and pay. The outcomes of a given labour market are dependent upon the processes as well as institutions of the overall bargaining besides the part played by unions of trade and organisations of employers. (eurofound.europa.cu, 2011) An equilibrium in a market of labour may be the putting together of demand for labour and labour supply. In such a case the price, with labour in focus, is the wage equivalent to a given labour level and the demanded quantity of labour is the amount of labour-hours that are employed. Labour demand is the output price multiplied by the extra labour productivity in output units. Equilibrium, therefore, occurs where the demand and supply curves intersect. Figure 1; shows the demand and supply of labour in a given industrial case. Note: D is demand for labour S is supply for labour W is real wage levels Wage S W D Labour hours D,S One can look at a given labour market where there is a law of minimum wage. The most essential factor here is to make an analysis of the effects of the law of minimum wage. Minimum wage (W1) is set above the wage at equilibrium level. The resultant effect is that of employers’ demand as well as hire (N1) labour-hours, which is lower than would be the amount of labour hours that are hired at the point of equilibrium wage. The other outcome is an excess supply of labour as seen in the

A Critical Review in the Contemporary Themes in Youth Work Practice, Essay - 4

A Critical Review in the Contemporary Themes in Youth Work Practice, Thematic Area Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing - Essay Example Brendtro, Ph.D, the President of Reclaiming Youth International. The main message of the article is that a crisis should be perceived as a unique opportunity that can help a student or a young person come to grips or understand an important life problem. As opposed to a glass half empty, successful management of a crisis requires looking at it as a glass half filled with water. This understanding is critical in successfully managing the crisis, therefore illuminating the pattern of self-defeating behavior of the student and providing strength-based skills. In this regard, LSCI is presented as an advanced and effective strategy of this paradigm to help promote understanding and change (Perry & Hambrick, 2008, pg. 34). In my opinion, the authors stress upon focusing upon the LSCI as opposed to other traditional approaches used to help troubled youth. Traditional approaches, or alternatives to the LSCI method, are explained and presented as reactive in nature and ineffective for solving youth problems. The LSCI, on the other hand, seeks to focus on understanding the facts and causes of counterproductive conflict styles. In support of the theories and principles presented by the authors is my own experience as well as broader research and reading on the subject. Several experts and scholars on the issue of ways of reclaiming young people who show patterns of self-defeating behavior are in favor of the LSCI approach as opposed to conventional approaches, which are seen as reactive. My evaluation of what the authors presented in this article is that it is exactly right and effective in especially the present-day challenging environments for youth growth and development. One of the major reasons why I am in support of the theories presented by the authors is with regard to the interventions for various patterns of self-defeating behavior common among young people and children. The LSCI process has been broken down into six stages

Discrimination Managing Equal Opportunity Essay

Discrimination Managing Equal Opportunity - Essay Example Be it slavery of the Jews in Rome, and the native Blacks in Africa or the modern day accepted practice of unnecessary portrayal of men/women in advertisements for a product targeted for the opposite sex. (ex: An all women and no man advertisement for selling a product for men, like undergarments, etc. and the man himself is missing in the advt. keeps one guessing for whom it is!). Although the perception of discrimination varies individually as widely as the individual characteristics themselves, the idea of a prejudiced or unfair treatment itself indicates a lack of understanding of the needs and desires of an individual. It even indicates a selfish and indifferent behavior of some. And just as one can find people of different kinds, forms, ethnicity, habits, gender, age, religion, etc. so are there as many grounds for discrimination for those who afford to discriminate. But, every problem brings with it a solution and hence the issue of discriminating also can be combated by making the necessary regulations for conduct by one and all. And also, care should be taken as not to encroach upon an individual's rights, as humanly as possible. These regulations in general are to be formulated and implemented strictly by the governing authorities, to bring about a change by a little coercion. One such revolutionary regulation that paved the way for women cadets in the Citadel is in the case of Shannon Faulkner who aspired to wear the Citadel ring (Genovese, 2). While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that 'employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin is prohibited' (Unlawful Employment Practices, par.1), Miss Faulkner's aspirations to join the Citadel were curbed by her exclusion from among the cadets. This was with complete indifference to the rights of Miss Faulkner. Her qualification for enrolling into the Citadel as an able and competent individual was not considered judiciously by the authorities concerned. While 'conservatives believed that the biological differences between men and women justify the exclusion of women from male enclaves' (Genovese, 1), the radical democrats vehemently defended her rights. Mrs.Genovese observes that 'public feeling for Shannon Faulkner had run high and presumably every American believed that young women cannot be denied educational and occupational opportunities on account of their sex' (2). Hence, the Citadel was forced to take an affirmative action to stop employment discrimination. A move in this direction was the Affirmative Action Plan or the Entity Plan undertaken by the Citadel. It put forth a basic outline of the positive steps to employ and advance in employment qualified minorities, women, disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam era, and persons with disabilities (Affirmative Action Plan, par. 1). The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission was also sought to co-operate in reviewing the job qualifications for the eligible persons and adopt new procedures as and when formulated. Some of the procedures adopted to ensure an affirmative action are- 1. To make available to all members of the Citadel and to the local community the affirmative action plan clearly by way of copies of the plan, statements by its administrative officer's, brochures, manuals, campus publications, etc. 2.

Desert Exile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Desert Exile - Essay Example Since his father received a good salary while working at Mitsui, Uchida used to live a more decent life than most of his Japanese colleagues in the United States. The author also witnessed other Japanese families suffer in the United States; this is because Japanese Americans experienced immense difficulties than the aliens (Uchida 10). Uchida’s experiences before the war were pleasant; as he experienced unity and togetherness of Japanese Americans who lived in the United States. His father could invite guests who would come and play golf with him while Uchida’s mother took tea with her female friends (Uchida 14). From the experiences that Uchida had, it is apparent that life used to be enjoyable before the war broke out. The author seems to have lived happily with his friends and family. Uchida enjoyed life to the fullest since the family could take trips with a lot of ease because the father had a railroad pass that enabled him to visit various places without any restrictions. During the Second World War, the Japanese went through several experiences that brought immense problems into their lives. Following the outbreak of the war, Japanese-Americans in the military had to be ousted. This emanated from the attack on Pearl harbor, which angered the United States and created resentment towards the Japanese-Americans. The faced numerous problems; as the United States government kicked them out of their homes. The U.S. government also introduced camps, which the army guarded by the army in order to ensure that they did not escape. The Japanese experienced problems with sanitation and overcrowding in the camps; as many of them could be confined in small camps. It became difficult for the Japanese-Americans to mingle with people from other racial groups. The segregation of the Japanese-Americans made them experience problems with access to essential services, especially from the government that completely neglected them (Uchida 52). The

Do the Poor Deserve Life Support Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Do the Poor Deserve Life Support - Essay Example Therefore, a uniform or universal healthcare system should be made available to every person. The healthcare system can be funded by the government particularly for the poor people who may not be able to foot their medical bills. Morally, I am appalled, with what the hospital did and I think they pulled the plug for the wrong person (French & Fordney, 472). Even though, we are aware that the patient had almost no brain functionality left, it is ethically and morally wrong to do what they did. This was a cold act of greed on the part of the hospital. Their act showed no compassion. The hospital failed to show sympathetic consciousness of the patient’s distress as well as with the desire to alleviate it. I think rich people should also offer assistance to the poor either through the tax system or voluntarily. We should actually spend more to help the poor access the health care right with lots of ease. In addition, what we are currently spending should be spent effectively so as the poor can be helped (French & Fordney, 472). The current healthcare system requires a massive overhaul. But since that may require time and resources, with the current system, the federal government should effectively guarantee that nobody will die for lack of a ventilator. They should, therefore, give the poor fully funded ventilator insurance. There are also other ways that such patients can be helped. First, the hospitals are able to provide relief to the underinsured and uninsured patients who are not able to afford hospital bills by offering them discounts. In addition, they can offer waivers or reductions of Medicare cost-sharing amounts for those who are experiencing financial hardships. The hospitals effort in this area is fully supported by the Office of Inspector General. Hospitals, therefore, have the obligation to life support to the poor (French & Fordney,

Discrimination Managing Equal Opportunity Essay

Discrimination Managing Equal Opportunity - Essay Example Be it slavery of the Jews in Rome, and the native Blacks in Africa or the modern day accepted practice of unnecessary portrayal of men/women in advertisements for a product targeted for the opposite sex. (ex: An all women and no man advertisement for selling a product for men, like undergarments, etc. and the man himself is missing in the advt. keeps one guessing for whom it is!). Although the perception of discrimination varies individually as widely as the individual characteristics themselves, the idea of a prejudiced or unfair treatment itself indicates a lack of understanding of the needs and desires of an individual. It even indicates a selfish and indifferent behavior of some. And just as one can find people of different kinds, forms, ethnicity, habits, gender, age, religion, etc. so are there as many grounds for discrimination for those who afford to discriminate. But, every problem brings with it a solution and hence the issue of discriminating also can be combated by making the necessary regulations for conduct by one and all. And also, care should be taken as not to encroach upon an individual's rights, as humanly as possible. These regulations in general are to be formulated and implemented strictly by the governing authorities, to bring about a change by a little coercion. One such revolutionary regulation that paved the way for women cadets in the Citadel is in the case of Shannon Faulkner who aspired to wear the Citadel ring (Genovese, 2). While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that 'employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin is prohibited' (Unlawful Employment Practices, par.1), Miss Faulkner's aspirations to join the Citadel were curbed by her exclusion from among the cadets. This was with complete indifference to the rights of Miss Faulkner. Her qualification for enrolling into the Citadel as an able and competent individual was not considered judiciously by the authorities concerned. While 'conservatives believed that the biological differences between men and women justify the exclusion of women from male enclaves' (Genovese, 1), the radical democrats vehemently defended her rights. Mrs.Genovese observes that 'public feeling for Shannon Faulkner had run high and presumably every American believed that young women cannot be denied educational and occupational opportunities on account of their sex' (2). Hence, the Citadel was forced to take an affirmative action to stop employment discrimination. A move in this direction was the Affirmative Action Plan or the Entity Plan undertaken by the Citadel. It put forth a basic outline of the positive steps to employ and advance in employment qualified minorities, women, disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam era, and persons with disabilities (Affirmative Action Plan, par. 1). The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission was also sought to co-operate in reviewing the job qualifications for the eligible persons and adopt new procedures as and when formulated. Some of the procedures adopted to ensure an affirmative action are- 1. To make available to all members of the Citadel and to the local community the affirmative action plan clearly by way of copies of the plan, statements by its administrative officer's, brochures, manuals, campus publications, etc. 2.

Do the Poor Deserve Life Support Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Do the Poor Deserve Life Support - Essay Example Therefore, a uniform or universal healthcare system should be made available to every person. The healthcare system can be funded by the government particularly for the poor people who may not be able to foot their medical bills. Morally, I am appalled, with what the hospital did and I think they pulled the plug for the wrong person (French & Fordney, 472). Even though, we are aware that the patient had almost no brain functionality left, it is ethically and morally wrong to do what they did. This was a cold act of greed on the part of the hospital. Their act showed no compassion. The hospital failed to show sympathetic consciousness of the patient’s distress as well as with the desire to alleviate it. I think rich people should also offer assistance to the poor either through the tax system or voluntarily. We should actually spend more to help the poor access the health care right with lots of ease. In addition, what we are currently spending should be spent effectively so as the poor can be helped (French & Fordney, 472). The current healthcare system requires a massive overhaul. But since that may require time and resources, with the current system, the federal government should effectively guarantee that nobody will die for lack of a ventilator. They should, therefore, give the poor fully funded ventilator insurance. There are also other ways that such patients can be helped. First, the hospitals are able to provide relief to the underinsured and uninsured patients who are not able to afford hospital bills by offering them discounts. In addition, they can offer waivers or reductions of Medicare cost-sharing amounts for those who are experiencing financial hardships. The hospitals effort in this area is fully supported by the Office of Inspector General. Hospitals, therefore, have the obligation to life support to the poor (French & Fordney,

Potential Communication Barries Essay Example for Free

Potential Communication Barries Essay Mental distraction which results to taking a lot of time between when you hear something and when you speak emotional distraction   makes someone overreact to what is spoken which makes him divert attention   far away from whoever is communicating which results to the person who is addressed not getting the information. When both speaker and listener have shared knowledge, there is barrier because both of them use same vocabulary and the listener fails to take what is communicated seriously. Physical distraction for example noise that make people not understand each other properly, when the room is too warm, people occupying it may be uncomfortable and loose concentration of what is being communicated. When judgment is done by those communicated to by appearance or knowledge or making judgment without facts to support it, communication is broken down because of the listener judging the communicator by what he can see but not by what he can offer. This will make the communicated be taken lightly and what he says will not be taken seriously. Lack of interest in what is communicated and having negative attitude towards the presenter will create barrier to effective communication because even the message delivered will be of little use to the listener. HOW TO OVERCOME COMMUNICATION BARRIERS You should stop talking and concentrate on listening in order to get all what is communicated and respond accordingly. Pay attention so that the parties concerned can be actively involved in the discussion and they can understand each other as they talk. Non verbal language should be paid attention to by keeping eye contact between both parties and getting the facial expression of the communicator. Always make sure that you question the speaker to ensure that your understanding is accurate so that you can get everything that is communicated to you. Resist any destruction by shuffling papers that can make your attention to be diverted away from what is being communicated. Do not draw while you listen because your concentration will be affected all the time. When upset by what the speaker is saying, do not interrupt until the speaker finishes whatever he is saying. Open your mind and try to look at the situation from the speakers point of view befo9re you can go ahead to make any judgment to the situation in question. If you have your own view about what the speaker is saying, you can use it to mirror what you heard from the speaker. IMPACT OF NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION WHILE INTERACTING WITH OTHER OFFICERS, WITNESSES AND POSSIBLE SUSPECTS Bouncing leg indicates that you have no interest in whatever is said and a sign of impatience because you are getting tired and you wand the speaker to finish whatever he is saying as quickly as possible. Nodding of head is a sign of approving what has been said. It shows the listener is encouraged by what has been said and also he understands what the speaker is tying to communicate. When an eyebrow is raised, this shows lack of believing what is said and questions the speaker’s message and also a sign of being surprised by whatever has been said. When the listeners remain silent, they understand everything that is being said. The topic is interesting to that and they want to continuer hearing more about it and they respect the speaker and can not make any noise while he is speaking. Slouching shoulders is a sign of tiredness because the speaker might have taken too long communicating without giving the listeners break to relax before he continues with his speech. It can also be a sign of discouragement and loss of hope. Looking away means that you are impatient and cannot wait any longer for the speaker to finish what he is saying. This is also a sign of lack of interest in what is being said. HOW TO GO ABOUT SPEAKING WITH THE FOLLOWING: The hearing impaired man Make sure the hearing aid is in the ear and if it is turned, adjust it to the right position to ensure that it is functioning properly and make sure the battery is working and replace it with a new one if it is not functioning well. Stand directly in front of the person so that he can see you clearly and be able to get individual attention from him when you are close enough to him before you begin to talk. When you approach the person, make sure he sees you to avoid making him startled. He should always know that there is some one near him not to be caught by surprise. Make the speech easier to understand by him by not chewing, eating or smoking while you talk to him. Hand should be kept away from face so that you can be seen clearly and learn any face expression which communicates a lot about your feelings. The background noise that interferes with proper hearing should be avoided to ensure total concentration of the listener and the speaker. Enough time should be allowed for meaningful conversation without running out of time. if messages are necessary, write them down so that the hearing impaired man can be able to read them.   When speaking, do not shout so that whatever you are saying can come out clearly and can be understood very well. Different ways can be used to make the message be properly understood. Speaking to the child The language ability level should be should be identified to know how to communicate to the child in a language that he can be able to understand. Know the physical capability of the child and emotional capability and communicate in a passionate manner and do not include any judgment to the child so that he can be encouraged to continue talking. Make sure the child is comfortable and help him understand the purpose of the interview. The language should be adjusted to help the child understand all the questions and a simple and well explained manner. The gang The gang should be reliable, look for what is positive and of material to the gang. Be yourself and real. Make the promises that you can always keep to ensure that you develop trust in the gang. be a good role model whom the gang can look at and admire all the time and help them mould their character. You should be aware of the experiences that other people have as you continue dealing with the gang and do not ignore their experience. Take care of the body language especially the movement of hands to avoid threatening the gang. Understand the gangs’ language so that you can ensure there is effective communication. Things should not be taken at personal level and help those who are in need of your help. Visually shaken Describe to them the room layout as you enter and inform him when you want to leave. If the person needs your guidance, allow him to take your arm for guidance. Increase lighting in the room and ask him if he needs your help and offer to help him. If you want to touch the person, first call him by name so that he can be aware that there is someone who is near him. Allow the person touch you if he needs to do so. Treat him like a sighted person and do not show him that you sympathize with his situation for him to know that he is still worthy despite his situation because disability is not inability. Explain to them what you are doing so that they may not be suspicious of what you are doing. Where possible, encourage independence and leave things where they are unless you are asked to move them to another place. Technology used throughout investigation and in the court room The law is enforced so that it can be followed by all the affected parties. the witnesses are interrogated for them to give evidence of the case in question that will assist the court in making judgment. The person who is guilty of the offence is arrested and waits for the day of trial. The days for the judge to listen to the case are booked at a given time in future. The suspects are held from the day they are caught until when their case will be heard which is the same day when citizens bring their claims to be heard by the judge. Ethical issues to consider There is training of judges on how to handle cases and how to judge the criminals depending on the evidence given concerning the committed crime. The sensitivity of the case is very important to ensure that judgment is done fairly without favorism or discrimination of either of the parties. There should be awareness of the rules and regulations set by the government on how all the citizen should behave and the disciplinary action taken against anybody who disobeys the law. The issue of equitable treatment to all citizens is important where they are all treated as equals and no one is taken as more important or special than the others. CONFLICT RESOLUTION Parties involved achieve success without leaving either party devoid of dignity or respect. It results in win solution by both parties getting something in return for considering the other. Success approach to conflict resolution is establishing relationship with disputing parties, have strategy for mediation, collect information, design plan, build trust, define the issues, uncover interests that are hidden, get settlement means and have a bargaining to achieve the settlement. SUBSEQUENT INTERROGATION The people present at the time the suspect takes a hostage are questioned and they give out the circumstances surrounding the ability of the suspect to take hostage. The police writes a report which is analyzed and helps to know where the suspect might have gone to take refuge so that he can be caught. If it was a plot for him to escape, the officers concerned faces disciplinary action and can be suspended from their duties till further notice. ASSOCIATED LEGAL ISSUES The suspect is caught again and will have two cases to answer in court. The murder case and taking a hostage. The judge will listen to both cases and gives judgment for both of them as two separate cases. If he is found guilty, he will be arrested and faces a jail sentence. WRITING PRESS RELEASE There was a suspect of murder who took a hostage from court after he was arrested in court. He is tall, medium sized and dressed in black trouser and white shirt. Anybody who has any information concerning him can report to the nearest police station and will receive a reward of one thousand dollars in cash. Thank you. From criminal investigation department The key participants in this trial are The eye witnesses who witnessed the shooting as it occurred for example, the child who was playing outside, the person who was impaired in hearing, the shaken visually who was pumping gas and the young gang members. The credibility issues are that when these eye witnesses were interrogated at different times, they gave the same information concerning the suspect. A gun was recovered from the pocket of suspect and he had put on more than one trouser so that when he commits crime he can be able to remove the trouser on top to hide his identity. The role l would play in the trial is that, I would guide the court on who to use to give evidence because, I was able to see who was on the spot immediately the shooting occurred and nobody else should give the evidence apart from the ones who were present. REFERENCES Albert Mehrabian; Nonverbial Communication; Transaction Pub,2007 Mc Mains, M.J, and Mullins, W.C, Crisis Negotiations in Law enforcement and corrections. Cincinnati, OH; Anderson Pub,2001 Edmund Husserl, Dermot Moran; Logical Investigations; Routledge,2001

The Impact Of Cell Phones: GPA

The Impact Of Cell Phones: GPA Cell phones adopted by young generation in recent year, have become global phenomena around the world. Thus, with the emergence of this technology almost everyone has tried to adopt these cell phones. We found in this research that cell phone usage had a negative impact on students GPA. Students using their cell phone during class, they also receiving and sending text messages during their class so they were able to pay less attention to lecture and thus it had negative impact on students performance. Key terms: Cell phones usage, Academic performance, GPA Introduction Commercialization of cellular phone technology has increased its use in recent years. In Pakistan total subscribers for cell phones till 12 September 2012 have reached to 120,513,430 (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority). The adoption of cell phones by young generation has been a global phenomenon in recent years. It has become an integral part of adolescents daily life and has become one of the most popular forms of communication. In todays world almost every student is having cell phone in their pocket, clipped to a belt, or hidden in a brief case or purse and knows perfect usage of it. As technology is growing every day at very fast rate, and is bringing positive and negative effects for society and so is with cell phone technology that has brought both positive and negative effects. It is commonly observed that these cell phones have also become status symbol for youth and they have indulged themselves in the competition of having best and most updated cell phone with maximum fe atures. Todays youth prefer cell phones more as compared to internet or any other social activity. Young people own cell phone and also want to upgrade it as soon as new model is launched in the market. Cell phones are that much involved in our life that the person who own cell phone is tend to be thought socially connected, independent, modern and in demand by the society. One of the most used applications of cell phones by our young generation is text messaging and these cellular network companies have also played a vital role in negatively affecting our young generation by introducing a number of packages for text messaging and calls also. Students of today are master in fastest text messaging and are seen text messaging while at home, at university, traveling ,in classroom and specially while studying. Communication with fellow students, professors, parents, and everyone else is just a click away. Most of the students use it for chatting with friends. This research paper explores the impact of cell phones` usage on students academic performance. We examined the effect of mobile usage on the grades among university students. Literature Review Cell phones and academic performance: The invention of cell phone has brought revolutionary change in the world. And thus bought change in the lifestyle of people using it including students. In 2005, the number of cell phone subscribers worldwide will reach 2 billion (Deloitte Research, 2005). And in Pakistan total fixed phone subscriber by December 2011 reached to only 3,098,117, less than mobile phone subscriber that were 120,151,253 till December 2011 (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority). Surveys have consistently shown that cell phone is used and loved more than television or internet by students, whether they are using internet or watching television they are having cell phone in their hands. Through common observation we also evaluated that students need to return to their home if they forget to take it with them. Thus with the emergence of this technology almost everyone has tried to adopt these cell phones and are addicted to its usage that they think their work done become difficult without its services and t hey are unable to stay connected with their friends and family. The main issue for teachers is the disturbance created in class room due to cell phone calls and texting. Combining this with the ease of hiding the device due to its small size, makes it very difficult for teachers to control it. Students are excited to find out that who has called and what the message is, young people are reluctant to turn off their cell phone during class time. Usually students kept their devices on during lectures with themselves and also sometimes forget to turn profile silent during class and its ringing create disturbance in class. Campbell (2006) found that students and faculty view the ringing of cell phone in class to be a serious problem. It is clear that if students spend time texting, they will not be able to pay attention to class lecture, will not be able to understand the topic and will not be able to produce good result in class, this will have impact on their grade points. Through common observation it is observed that today students are busy with this technology, spends 90% of their time with cell phones and dont pay attention to their studies. And if they pretend to their parents that they are studying in their room, they are actually dodging their parents, it is such a small device that they can easily hide them and lie with their parents. Students are trying to make as many friends whether girl or boy as they can, keeping themselves busy all day and night, as these network companies for their own profit have introduced a lots of cheap packages for call and messaging. All these activities in which students have engaged themselves in todays world are demolishing their present and future. After explaining negative aspect there are some positive impact also, it helps students to stay connected with their group members when assigned some group work from their teacher and can also contact their teachers in time of having any difficulty regarding their assignments. In school it also helps teacher to tell their parents about any serious problem happened to the students and also helps teacher to text their parent if they are absent from school. Students are supposed to use mobile phones whole night texting their friends. It is interesting to note that there are few common family rules about young peoples use of the cell phone. In fact, many adolescents (58%) reported that there were no rules set by their parents about their cell phone use and only 12% reported that their parents used removal of their cell phones from them as punishment (Metthews, 2004). Probably because of the sleeping issue it has been found that parents have to take cell phone from their children at night while going to sleep. Some reported that parents had to ask their children to stop using phone at night as then students are unable to wake up early in the morning for their university, school or college or they feel sleepy during class and do not pay proper attention. Along with academic performance cell phones have also positively and negatively affected social relationships. With the emergence of mobile phones individuals are able to stay connected with their friends, family and relatives living abroad. In addition to keeping up with social relationships, individuals have also been able to increase productivity with their work because they can be hundreds of miles away from the office, and still have instant access to their e-mail, documents and contacts wherever they are (Tully, 2003). A trend that is becoming more apparent is present absences; this is the concept of how an individuals presence in a social setting changes regardless of their physical presence, they are only half-present (Fortunati 2008). Individuals attending any meeting with their friends, coworkers, boss or any type of social activity, they leave that place during conversation as soon as their cell phone rings or vibrate. Even when sitting with their parents they do not hesit ate to go ahead and answer the call without thinking that this could hurt them. Through observation, researchers have found that individuals typically will not hesitate to interrupt an ongoing conversation to answer the ringing of their cell phone. Cell phones have given a new way to individuals to form new relationships and to strengthen existing ones. Teens admitted spending nearly an equal amount of time talking as they do texting each month. The feature is so important to them that if texting was no longer an option, 47 percent of teens say their social life would end or be worsened especially among females (54 percent compared to 40 percent of males) (CTIA Survey 2008). Before the emergence of mobile technology, individuals have regular interaction with one another. As they have very little telephonic contact with one another so they are used to visit each other homes regularly. Even if any one of the family member is in hospital, their loved ones even if out of city make a visit instantly or the next day but now with the emergence of cell phones people are supposed to just ask about their health on phone call with their cell phones. Cell phones also create a factor of safety among parents. Parents feel satisfied if their children are having cell phone with them while going outside as they can contact them whenever they want. Even in the time of emergency they can call them. Not only parents can contact their children in the time of difficulty but children can also contact them in emergencies. But children also sometime misuse this device by telling lie to their parents and doing whatever they want to do outside, as their parents are satisfied with their lie. On the other side this device along with disadvantages has helped children and parents both to stay in contact when outside their home. As everything in this world have advantages and disadvantages both and it is upon us how we utilize it. Hypothesis Cell phones` usage will have a negative effect on students` academic performance. Model Cell phone usage Academic performance Methodology The data was collected by distributing questionnaire to students of different universities in Pakistan with the ages ranging between eighteen and thirty. A sample size of 150 students was taken in which 65 respondents were male and 85 respondents were female. The survey consisted of 24 questions, including cell phone impacts on students academic performance and social relationship. Multiple choice questions were asked. The reliability of the instrument was calculated by using SPSS. The instrument was personally administered to the sample. Demographic information (e.g., age, gender, university, degree, GPA) was also collected. Results After successfully collecting the data through distributing questionnaires in different universities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, we have inserted that data in SPSS software data sheet and run desired functions necessary to know that what impact does independent variable (cell phone usage ) have on dependent variable (students academic performance). We have evaluated students academic performance by considering their GPA. From the correlation results as shown in TABLE 1, we have find that cell phone usage is having negative impact on students GPA i.e. (r= -0.303, p